Thailand Exempts Crypto Transfers From VAT Until End of 2023 – Taxes Bitcoin News

Thailand has officially implemented a value added tax exemption (VAT) for the transfer of cryptocurrency through government-approved Exchanges. This tax relief, currently in place until the end of next years, will apply also to digital currency issued and maintained by Bank of Thailand.

Royal Decrees Exempt Crypto Trading from VAT in Thailand

Transacting in cryptocurrencies or digital tokens via Thai exchanges will be exempted from VAT at 7% The Royal Gazette published a Tuesday decree that extended the tax exemption retroactively to April 1, 2022. Local media reports that it will remain in effect until December 31, 2023.

This measure concerns platforms that are registered with the Ministry of Finance. It was approved in March by the government. As soon as the decision was published in an official journal, it has entered into Thai law.

According to the document the principal purpose of tax relief was to encourage cryptocurrency trading on authorized exchanges.

Thailand’s Finance Minister Arkom Termpittayapaisit is convinced that the relaxed tax rules will make cryptocurrency exchange in the country more reliable and stable. He also stated:

It would also encourage Thailand’s infrastructure and payment systems to be prepared for the digital future.

Ekniti Nitthanprapas, director-general of the Revenue Department, stated that crypto trading is more accessible for investors and will provide fair tax treatment. In addition to a better image for Thailand in the international digital space.

Another royal decree, also published on May 24, extends the VAT exemption to transfers with a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) issued by Thailand’s monetary authority. In December, the Bank of Thailand announced it’s planning to start testing the CBDC in late 2022 in transactions between financial institutions and users as an alternative means of payment.

Over the last few years, crypto trading and investment have increased in Thailand. In late March, citing the need to prevent various financial and economic threats, the country’s financial regulators took steps to curb the use of cryptocurrencies for payments, with the SEC announcing rules designed to discourage digital asset operators from offering related services.

Do you expect other countries in the region to follow Thailand’s example and relax taxation for cryptocurrency trading? Please leave your comments below.

Lubomir Tassav

Lubomir Tassev is a journalist from tech-savvy Eastern Europe who likes Hitchens’s quote: “Being a writer is what I am, rather than what I do.” Besides crypto, blockchain and fintech, international politics and economics are two other sources of inspiration.